


Aubade

by stritram



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - No Sgrub Session, Blood, Blood Drinking, F/F, Gen, Rainbow Drinkers, Vampires, ithmmse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:03:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9056500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stritram/pseuds/stritram
Summary: In which MMS doesn't end as depressingly. Starts from the middle of Chapter 16 (or Chapter 18 per AO3).





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keikei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keikei/gifts).
  * Inspired by [My Mind Secedes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4934032) by [keikei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keikei/pseuds/keikei). 



Kanaya could contain her thirst no longer. Vriska was so close, and her blood ran so warm beneath her skin. There was no longer any resisting the temptation. As the kiss was broken, she moved her lips down to Vriska’s neck, kissing there for a moment before sinking her fangs in uninvited. At that moment, at last Kanaya found the release she had been seeking. It was not simply the fact that it was cerulean blood, no, it was that it was _Vriska’s_ —it had felt like so very, very long since she had experienced this sensation, the feeling that sent waves of unimpeded pleasure through her second after second.

“Kanaya, come on, that’s enough. Stop it.” She heard the words, but she did not understand them, so preoccupied she was with her consumption. “Kanaya!” The striking seemed to get weaker. “I said stop!” And then they stopped.

It was only after a half a minute of not feeling anything that Kanaya realized that her teeth were not sunken in anything, and that a figure had fallen on top of her. As she faded into a state of awareness, the ecstasy and the voice that had been stuck within it without her having realized came into full focus, solidifying into a single form she could comprehend.

“Ahhh Kanaya,” Vriska hoarsely screamed through pained sobs, “snap out of it you fucking-” she pushed away and fell against the wall, collapsing to the floor. Kanaya was still fighting against herself, but had enough conscious energy to dive down and prop her up. The words settled into tired gasps and moans of exasperation. Kanaya took off her shirt and wrapped it around the two holes adorning the right side of Vriska’s neck, applying pressure for a few minutes. “I’m sorry, absolutely sorry,” she whispered, surprising herself with the steadiness with which the words came out. “Let me just take a second to get something to wrap around this.” As she got up and turned her heel, almost stumbling and reluctant to move away from Vriska for a clashing horde of reasons, she heard a soft, mumbled “okay.”

Walking through the hallway to get to the closet where the first aid supplies were stocked, a tangle of inchoate thoughts flooded her head. What was—no, _is_ that? is _she_? If it got that far, and it was already getting worse, what would she, it, become? What would she—what would Vriska think? do? And really, whose fault would that be? Would that even matter? Scratch that, revise—would it matter to Vriska? The supplies ended up cradled in her arms as she ran back, trying to make sure that nothing fell, that no time would be wasted, unless all this time was wasted, and there was nothing to do but continue running ahead, trying to outrun time and wasting it some more.

She was about to turn the corner when a crash rang out. She stopped dead in her tracks. Wouldn’t it be funny to get all wound up about the future, only for it to strangle itself first? How fitting, to regain some semblance of consciousness, of a conscience, right before the kicker. The blood strewn on the floor, on her hands, and the dots would all be connected, with one body facing another and realizing what it had taken from it, yet unable to give anything back, separate and moving closer but never close enough. It had gotten as close as it could, and the price for that had been paid. And even after that, it wasn’t enough. It could never be enough with her. How fucking needy, Vriska taunted in her head. She repeated it to herself. Only one was joking.

That’s enough, Kanaya thought. She took a breath and stepped around.

She stopped again. In front of her was Vriska, nearly an inch from her face, slouched sideways against the wall and breathing heavily. In the background she could see the lamp she’d bought her, ever concerned about the darkness everyone seemed to keep themselves in, strewn on the floor, along with a little bat tchotchke Vriska had placed it there “to suffer underneath,” as she described it, and the spider figure that had been placed next to it. Her heavy breaths fell on Kanaya’s skin, and she focused on them as if they were the sweetest kisses she’d ever received, until a slap fell hard on her right cheek.

The heavy breathing continued for a couple of seconds before Vriska’s voice shot through. “I’d follow that up by sticking it in your neck if I could, Maryam.” Kanaya couldn’t bear to look at her, so Vriska took the slapping hand and straightened Kanaya’s head. “I didn’t think you were so good that you could fix me up without even looking, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Her lips curved upwards. “Now give me the gauze pad to cover my blowhole of an injury while you do the rest. You don’t expect me to carry the burden of feeding you _and_ cleaning up after you, do you?”

Kanaya kept her face straight. This wasn’t a sign to indulge in any playfulness. Nothing changed.

“Of course not.”

***

“You’re a killer, Kanaya.” Terezi paced back and forth, stabbing her cane into the ground at a constant beat, light enough to constitute the ticking of a clock. Time was running out; it would be over soon. “But you didn’t this time, and I only have jurisdiction over this case. The court will be watching for future indiscretions.” She nodded towards the row of scalemates on the other side of the room. “In the meantime, you and Vriska can keep the cuffs, you filthy delinquents. Court dismissed.”

Terezi held a grin on her face. Her eyes were trained on Kanaya, who got the sense that just behind that grin was an expression she’d rather not see, and that both of them knew this, but the palpable relief, fictional and otherwise, papered over it. She sighed, gave a polite smile to Terezi, and ascended the basement stairs.

Upstairs Vriska was sitting at the table, sipping a cup of grubjuice. She turned around upon hearing the door shut.

“Did Terezi give you the whole schtick? I told her not to take things too far, but you know-”

“Yes, but it was fine. Fun, even.”

“-you took things too far as well, so I hope she had all the fun. All of it.” She smirked. “Glad to know that she let you out of the basement, though. Wouldn’t want her to keep you all to herself.”

Kanaya took that as a cue to walk towards her, resting her head on the shoulder next to the wound. She looked at the laptop. Tavros had left a message that was delightfully divorced from any of the events that had transpired. The good thing about long-distance seclusion was the privacy it offered.

“I’ve got to feed my lusus soon.” After the incident, it had taken Vriska a few days to recover physically to a semblance of full health, during which time Kanaya had taken care of her and the house, as well as attending to Vriska’s lusus. It wasn’t easy—well, not that it wasn’t an easy task to carry out in itself, but it reminded her too much of her own needs. She hadn’t told Vriska this, but somehow she was able to tell, and decided to resume her former responsibilities, after a bout of half-hearted objections on Kanaya’s part. Vriska, in fact, seemed to be perfectly fine with it. It was hard for Kanaya to imagine how.

“Okay. Make sure you dress warmly and-” she took a finger and tugged Vriska’s head towards her, tilting it before gently kissing her, digging in just enough with her teeth on her bottom lip. She didn’t need much blood now, or not as much as this.

After a few seconds they pulled apart and looked into each other’s eyes. Yellow. There’s a bit of blue in there, but it’s mostly a relief. Maybe an unreasonable one.

“-stay safe.” she said softly. “There are monsters out there.”

“You know what Terezi would say.”

“I think I have an idea.”

She moved back in to kiss, wanting to hang on forever, until Vriska pulled back. “I’d love to continue, but work has to be done, preferably before the sun rises. Have to attend to all those irons in the fire.” Kanaya took her head off Vriska’s shoulder so she could stand up. Before Vriska could leave, though, Kanaya went to grab the coat she’d made for Vriska. It was a bit large for her, but it’s not as if anyone was going to see her anyway. Besides Vriska, who was giving her a confused look.

“Uh, what are you doing with my jacket? I mean, I can wear something else, but you have your own. Several, in fact.”

Kanaya walked a bit closer to the door before turning around. “I just want to see how it feels. It’s been a while since I made it, and I just want to make sure it’s up to my standards. If that makes sense. Besides, I’ll only be out a few minutes.”

Vriska’s face softened. “ I still don’t get you, Maryam, but whatever you want. Just,” she paused. “Come back soon, okay?”

Kanaya thought of responding, but decided she could soon enough. She turned around and walked to the doorway, stepping inside her boots and lacing them up. Putting her hand on the doorknob, built like a spiderweb just like the one on the other side, she pulled the monolith of a door her way and, stepping outside, dragged it shut. She’d never really gotten used to that design.

It had gotten cooler again recently, and the early morning air carried the remnants of the previous season’s intimations. The coat was still rather warm, but she appreciated that. After she started walking for a bit she looked down at the coat, its stark black and white design at odds with the landscape. It was meant for the winter, functionally and fashionably. It had held up very well.

After a while—she didn’t have any way of telling exactly how long—she ended up at the outer edge of the woods, almost unconsciously. But not quite. She knew where she was; the house of the goldblood from whom she had fed was in front of her. The body could possibly still be in there, but Kanaya didn’t bother trying to go inside, even though it seemed vacant of any current residents, to check. What happened with a body after she had used it up was none of her concern.

She turned around, scanning the area. There was nothing there. The air was punctured with her breaths, soft and steady, carrying the pulse of the entire forest. Kanaya stood there, motionless, until a pang of thirst settled into her chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Secret Santa gift for fuzzyCracker! That fic was fucking depressing, so I hope it's understandable that this isn't exactly super cheery. At least nobody dies! (Well, none of the main characters, anyway. Including Tavros.)
> 
> Many thanks to evelynriese for providing input!


End file.
